Found Deceased MI - Brendan Santo 18, visitor, Michigan State University campus, East Lansing, 29 Oct 2021

[CLGM]

Red Cedar River complicating search for Brendan Santo

Lots of good info about the river search which IS ongoing according to this report from a local news station last evening. The depth of the river is 8-12 ft and moves 5-6 mph. Searching the river has been challenging and takes a toll on the divers who want to bring closure to the family.

Praying, as always, that today is the day.

 

[Simonly1@]

Like so many parents I am in agony over this. My son and friends were also at MSU over that weekend visiting friends. It was packed with people and very heavy drinking with the football team win. Kids were also in costumes with lots of parties. The problem is if you are visiting people and they are not in their dorm and your phone is dead, you can't reach them to get inside. It was raining at times and very cold that night. If he was lost (a probability as a visitor) or could not get into the dorm that is where foul play could ensue. There is not just college students around but local crime and drugs from east lansing. <modsnip> Police are not releasing enough information about who he was visiting and why he left to travel from one dorm to another alone. <modsnip> It is so troubling and sad. I pray for his family he is found.

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

Like so many parents I am in agony over this. My son and friends were also at MSU over that weekend visiting friends... It is so troubling and sad. I pray for his family he is found...

<snipped>

Welcome to Websleuths!

 

[Simonly1@]

<snipped>

Welcome to Websleuths!

What/why are the snips?

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

What/why are the snips?

Just saving space on the forum

Another very short report on WDIV (Channel 4) about what it takes to get divers into the water for the continued search of the Red Cedar River.

 

[Hap]

Could he have crawled into a parked car? .. and for whatever reasons not survived the initial night. Anything but being in the river....

 

[kathryann]

I live in MI and so so many people are searching and helping out. He has a Facebook page Bring Brendan Santo Home. Praying for this family. Lots of info.

 

[PommyMommy]

NOV 10, 2021
Police continue to search for missing Rochester Hills teen (candgnews.com)
[...]

Police say Santo may have been walking to the Brody neighborhood, and his last known location is near Michigan and Beal avenues. ...

Thus far, officials say the effort to find Santo has included searches by foot, drone, helicopter and boat, and it has utilized canine units, divers and civilian volunteers. The investigation, according to police, has also used “advanced techniques” to review cellular, smartphone and GPS data. ...

[...]

FBI to assist in search for 18-year-old who went missing weekend of Michigan State-Michigan game - Daily Dodge
“I’ve been talking to a lot of his friends lately, and his friends are just so devastated,” said DB, Santo’s aunt. “They’re really a close-knit group, and they really care about each other, and they’re just hoping that he comes back.”

Where is Brendan Santo? Search Draws 500 Volunteers (breakingdailynews.com)
The investigation into what happened to Brendan, now missing for over 12 days, has also garnered over 5,600 members on a Facebook page title “Bring Brendan Santo Home,” where search parties are formed to scour the location surrounding Michigan State University.

“The amount of support we’ve gotten just floors me,” Brendan’s aunt said. “These people have been so amazing and so wonderful to help us find Brendan.”

 

[borndem]

NOV 10, 2021
Police continue to search for missing Rochester Hills teen (candgnews.com)
[...]

Police say Santo may have been walking to the Brody neighborhood, and his last known location is near Michigan and Beal avenues. ...

Thus far, officials say the effort to find Santo has included searches by foot, drone, helicopter and boat, and it has utilized canine units, divers and civilian volunteers. The investigation, according to police, has also used “advanced techniques” to review cellular, smartphone and GPS data. ...

[...]

FBI to assist in search for 18-year-old who went missing weekend of Michigan State-Michigan game - Daily Dodge
“I’ve been talking to a lot of his friends lately, and his friends are just so devastated,” said DB, Santo’s aunt. “They’re really a close-knit group, and they really care about each other, and they’re just hoping that he comes back.”

Where is Brendan Santo? Search Draws 500 Volunteers (breakingdailynews.com)
The investigation into what happened to Brendan, now missing for over 12 days, has also garnered over 5,600 members on a Facebook page title “Bring Brendan Santo Home,” where search parties are formed to scour the location surrounding Michigan State University.

“The amount of support we’ve gotten just floors me,” Brendan’s aunt said. “These people have been so amazing and so wonderful to help us find Brendan.”

Oh, this just makes me want to cry. They must be a very caring and close family. So glad they've got each other...
I, like many of us, I'm sure, think about Brendan and his family every day -- and I usually think, "Today's the day..."

 

[borndem]

Welcome to Websleuths,
Simonly1 !!​

 

[Mom24]

Still nothing on Brendan.

 

[regannicole177]

Did they ever confirm from anyone where he said he was going when he left the dorm? It's such a shame about his phone dying. My sons are famous for this happening all the time because they use it so much. I bet he was out and about so much that he never let it fully get charged. I'd imagine there's a lot of data to track on that phone, maybe some Snapchats, pics of parties and underage drinking. I think he was heading somewhere and knew where he wanted to go. Why would he leave his friends behind at a party if he had the keys to his friends car? That doesn't make sense at all to me. And why would he not go back to the dorm to his friends knowing his phone went dead. Was he heading back to his friends car?

According to what's been released so far, he was leaving a dorm building, notably an all girls dorm, and they've said that he was headed into Brody Neighborhood, which is a group of dorm buildings. To me it sounds like he was heading back to the dorm of the friends he was originally visiting and that he was intending to spend the night in, especially because his friends vehicle that he had the keys to was parked at a dorm in this neighborhood.

 

[borndem]

Welcome to Websleuths,
regannicole177 !!​

 

[pamandki]

Did they ever confirm from anyone where he said he was going when he left the dorm? It's such a shame about his phone dying. My sons are famous for this happening all the time because they use it so much. I bet he was out and about so much that he never let it fully get charged. I'd imagine there's a lot of data to track on that phone, maybe some Snapchats, pics of parties and underage drinking. I think he was heading somewhere and knew where he wanted to go. Why would he leave his friends behind at a party if he had the keys to his friends car? That doesn't make sense at all to me. And why would he not go back to the dorm to his friends knowing his phone went dead. Was he heading back to his friends car?

I’m not certain why he had his friend’s keys but maybe it had a key to get back into his friend’s dorm. The dorm he was at was not the same he was going to stay in. Campus is very large, Brendan was not familiar with it and while he maybe thought he knew the way back to Brody, he indicated to someone at Yakely that he was lost apparently, then his phone died. Campus has the river running thru it, there are a lot of wooded areas and it was dark and raining that evening. Nobody intended to drive that night from what I understand so the keys are a mystery unless as I mentioned his friend’s had a room key.

 

[Steve McQueen]

I’m not certain why he had his friend’s keys but maybe it had a key to get back into his friend’s dorm. The dorm he was at was not the same he was going to stay in. Campus is very large, Brendan was not familiar with it and while he maybe thought he knew the way back to Brody, he indicated to someone at Yakely that he was lost apparently, then his phone died. Campus has the river running thru it, there are a lot of wooded areas and it was dark and raining that evening. Nobody intended to drive that night from what I understand so the keys are a mystery unless as I mentioned his friend’s had a room key.

Good deduction about the room key!

 

[hey-Debbie]

people aren’t going to report that for what reason? Drunk or not I would definitely try to save the person if I witnessed him fall in the river and I couldn’t get to him. That is someone’s life. You don’t just ignore that.

I never said anything about people not reporting.

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

MSU: Security camera at Yakeley Hall not working the night Brendan Santo went missing (yahoo.com)

EAST LANSING — A security camera outside Yakeley Hall at Michigan State University was not working the night of Brendan Santo's disappearance from campus, according to MSU's president.

Santo, 18, was last seen leaving Yakeley Hall on foot just before midnight Oct. 29, according to MSU police. They suspect he may have been walking to the Brody neighborhood and do not believe he left the East Lansing area. His vehicle was found where he had last parked it...

 

[razzledazzle]

Came to bump Branden to page 1, but I see @BetteDavisEyes posted an official on the non-working camera. Thank you. I'm just not feeling like he is in the river. Sure hope something breaks soon.

 

[CLGM]

There will be another volunteer search tomorrow in the Lansing area (broadening the search from just East Lansing). The MSU President sent an email out to the MSU community about the situation with non-working cameras. I've seen it (b/c I'm a parent), but can't find a link to to the direct communication yet. I'm disappointed that the Yahoo article published the zoom info, as there really needs to be space for the MSU community (which is huge) to have our questions and concerns discussed without time being used by the non-MSU public. MOO. *sigh* this is just so heart-breaking and I just won't be able to put it out of my head until Brendan is found. As long as he is missing, the possibility remains that it was foul play even though even today, in his message, the President reiterated that the task force (composed of all the LE agencies) doesn't believe that there was foul play. How can someone just disappear??

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

Came to bump Branden to page 1, but I see @BetteDavisEyes posted an official on the non-working camera. Thank you. I'm just not feeling like he is in the river. Sure hope something breaks soon.

Anyone who has followed the Gabby Petito/Brian Laundrie case probably questioned at some point whether the lengthy, costly search at the Carlton Reserve was worthwhile. Many were convinced that the search was in vain and that Brian wasn't in the Reserve, but law enforcement agencies persisted in the search, and the young man's remains and some personal effects were eventually located. The Red Cedar River is long with swift currents, changing water levels, and lots of debris. Investigators must have reason to believe that Brendan could be in the river, so it's probably too soon to give up entirely on the water search. JMO